Coach’s Take: Utah Prospects 15U (Part II)

It’s August, that means live action on the hardwood slows down, but our coverage of Iowa high schools hoops remains active. The grassroots season recently wrapped up, and we’re going to spend the month re-capping what went down by talking to some of the most successful team’s coaches, and getting their take on players that suited up for them all spring and summer.

We recently caught up with Utah Prospects 15U coach Tim Davis about his squad, one of the best in the West. And he gave us a detailed description of each of his Class of 2021 guys.

Utah Prospects 15U coach Tim Davis talks…

Lawson Lovering, 6’10 C (*Wyoming)

“I think Lawson over time will be a national recruit, a top-100 level guy. He’s about 6’10 or 6’11 with size 18 shoes. He’s still got room to grow, I think he’ll be about 7-foot or 7’1 before it’s all said and done. He’s got a high skill level, he finished really well on the block, he has a good up-and-under and good foot-work in the post, but he also has a good mid-range and can take it out to 3-point range, he’s really fluid. But he’s really good at shot-making and one-dribble get to the hoop. He’s been offered by two Mountain West schools; Wyoming and Boise State, and has a few other high-majors after him, Utah, Colorado, Baylor, Texas as well as Cal. I think he’ll be national recruit when it’s all said and done, a lot of people will know about him.”

Ben Krystowiak, 6’3 G (Brighton)

“His dad is actually the coach at University of Utah. I coached his older brother Cameron. Ben played a little bit of three for me this year and a lot of two. I think he’ll be a two/one type of guy; a combo-guard that can play point guard at times. He’s about 6’3 right now, but I’ll bet he’ll end up being about 6’7, just genetically based on his brothers and his parents. But he’s a big point guard type guy, who can play the combo as well off the ball. The thing that he brings, and I saw it change a lot this year, it he can get really tough, and not scared of contact or worried about the foul. He’s become a really good shot-maker and his versatility has become a problem and is going to be a problem for a lot of teams. He’s going to be able to play the one through three and handle the ball and guard those bigger kids, and he’s a good passer for his size an a good ball-handler. And his ability to get into the paint is going make him tough with that size, because he’ll be able to see over the top of everything.”

Jordan Toscano, 6′ G (Bingham)

Jordan was one of my starting guards, he and Coleman (Ford) started together. I would say he’s an elite ball-handler, he’s been handling it at a high-level for a long time, which has helped him. His ability to get into the paint and make guys better was big for us. When our team is clicking a lot it’s because Jordan was making everybody else better. He’s finding guys, getting them open shots. And he’ll make shots and finish well around the hoop, but when he’s in that 6-10 assist range, that’s when we’re really tough. He’s hard to stay in front off, he’s really crafty with the ball and just a really smart player.”

Duncan Reid, 6’3 G (Skyridge)

“He has a D1 offer from Southern Utah. One of the things you know you’ll get with Duncan is he’s going to fill it up fast, like really fast. He’s just instinctive and just how he plays, scoring is really, really easy for him. He’ll get three, six, nine, 11, 15 (points) and he’ll get it really fast for you. His mid-range game, I’d say is elite. And he’s a good finisher, and he’ll keep getting better at finishing around the hoop. When he’s going and he’s making shots he’s hard to stop. And he makes us go when he’s doing that. He has a chance to be a really high-level player. He has a good pedigree, his dad is one of the all-time leading scorers in Utah’s history.”

Tevita Mafileo, 6’6 F (Jordan)

“He’s a BYU football commit. He’s probably about 6’6 right now, he’s committed to play safety. He just brings a toughness to our team and just an edge. He doesn’t take a lot of shots even though he’s actually a really capable 3-point shooter. He plays the four position, the power forward and when he’s on the floor, we’re tough. He just provides a toughness, he’s not scared, he doesn’t back down from anybody and he just provides that edge for the team. When he’s on the floor, usually a lot of good things are happening for us.”